I'm so excited, today I noticed my name has been added to the KNITTING OLYMPICS. I am finally a joiner.
The giddiness of this had made me consider buying a tv. Yes, I have lived without this staple of american existence for 2 1/2 years now. Notice the half? I am proud of it but desperately miss some shows. I made the decision that I should be watching the olympics as I spin for my gold.
I thought long and hard, I consulted Himself the tv expert. Why do we have no tv but a tv expert in our house? It's because no tv out there right now is good enough for the expert to spend his money on. Next month or next year it will be better or the prices will go down. I asked when he would finally spend his hard saved tv money (he has been saving his money for three years now to buy a tv)and his answer was "maybe never."
So I informed Himself that we would buy a small tv to hold us over until he was prepared to make... The Big Purchase. AND we would spring for(gasp)cable.
Once that was decided, I set a budget and he picked out what we wanted. Then I got scared. I started thinking about watching ice skating (I love ice skating) and not spinning. I started thinking of the added $ a month on cable. What if that cut into the yarn fund? So in a fit of panic I have chosen Books on Tape. I will go find out why I still haven't received my library card, and look over their selection. If it has Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and some other books I have been meaning to read I will forgo the scary money and time sucking tv and spin to stories instead.
To celebrate being in the olympics I bought one of the Yarn Harlots's books today. After all she is hosting.
To celebrate my largest paycheck ever I bought eight balls/skeins of sock yarn. Yes, the day before February actually starts, I spent all but $20 of that month allowance. But some of it hand dyed, and some will be a gift for my father after all he sent me this e-mail.
...Sometimes I decide if I need to do laundry by checking whether any of the socks you knitted me are still clean. But since Christmas, I have sometimes decided based on whether the new pair is clean. That's a lot of laundry.
I had never had favorite socks until you made me some. Then all your hand-made ones were favorites. Now this new pair is more comfortable than any before. They stand out. The wool socks in general, kept my feet comfortable, especially in the cold. I hadn't known that socks could feel good just to wear. Actually, I had always preferred bare-footed for comfort, unless it was cold, or I was going in stickers...
So of course I had to run out and buy more yarn to knit him socks. It was a struggle not to buy him hand dyed yarn, too. But I didn't think he would appreciate it as much as I might hope. I found some in a nice tweed sock yarn at the second yarn store I visited at lunch.
Yes, I now work in a place I can walk to two yarn stores. If that isn't the beginnings of an excellent job, I don't know what is.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Thursday, January 26, 2006
After a night of knitting at Fine Line I'm almost finished with the mini sweater. Some of my handspun is finally done marinating in the stash. It's only 400 yards that's not enough for a sweater, and just right for the mini sweater. but as I knit I'm actually worried about having too much yarn left over. I only have the short sleeves left and I still have 3 skeins. I suspect I will only need 1 of them. Then what? Would my wardrobe be improved by a One Skein Wonder? Do I want two shrugs made out of the same yarn?
Sunday, January 22, 2006
So why can't I see my new posts?
So why can't I see my new posts? OK so I just need to hit my damn refresh button. Duoh!
learning to blog
I'm having a hell of a time learning the bells and whistles of this blog. My last post does not show so here is a second. All I want to do is make a link work. I want to make this sweater. Is that so hard? I don't mean the sweater. I think that may be hard, but to post the link. Anyway I am sampling the yarn now.
New Years
Yesterday, I finally made my new years resolutions. The first one is to blog more. What brought this on? Why the knitting olympics
So I have 2 months to catch up on. In short we moved from the farm to the city. That's right Chicago. The land of deep dish pizza, art museums, and the yarn store. I have already visited 3 within 5 miles of my home. I have found address for 2 more. If I'm willing to up that drive to 10 miles there are at least 2 more. This is not counting Joann's or Michael's. Lets just say I'm in yarn shopping heaven.
knitting olympicsof course. I am going to participate. I'm not sure I'm going to actually join since I won't be knitting, I'm going to be spinning. That's right during the winter olympics I'm going to run a marathon... No wait not in the snow... Cross country sking. I'm going to spin enough 3 ply worsted weight yarn to make a mans sized cabled sweater. So I have 2 months to catch up on. In short we moved from the farm to the city. That's right Chicago. The land of deep dish pizza, art museums, and the yarn store. I have already visited 3 within 5 miles of my home. I have found address for 2 more. If I'm willing to up that drive to 10 miles there are at least 2 more. This is not counting Joann's or Michael's. Lets just say I'm in yarn shopping heaven.
Monday, October 10, 2005
tiramisu
So much has happened recently, I just don’t know were to start. I have yarn showing up on my doorstep almost every day. That’s good. Two more packages to go and that will be all. Well unless of course I go ahead and buy some superwash wool for the upcoming dye day. One package I won from eBay is wrong. What a pain. Right yarn wrong colors. Very wrong colors. Now I have to go through the hassle of shipping it back and waiting another 2 weeks for it to make the trip back.
The sweater that started all the crazy yarn buying is almost done. Along with 2 others I just started. It’s nice to be productive.
I bought Fishermen’s Sweaters by Alice Starmore. They are my favorite types of sweaters to knit. Cabled aran and gansey sweaters knit in the round seamlessly. While the photography is stunning nowhere can I actually see the sweaters very well. In one photo the model is wrapped in a woven blanket with only the neck ribbing of the sweater showing. Hello, how am I supposed to know if I want to make that one? Ok minnie rant is over and I have 2 picked out that I’m dieing to knit. Too bad they are both for large children. Since I don’t know any large children I will just have to wait until the babies I’m knitting for get bigger. There is one sweater I must make for me but it’s not knit in the round. Bummer. However I think I can change that. Oh and she tells how to make steeks that are finished without using a sewing machine. WooHoo! Fair Isle here I come!
In that note I also picked up Fair Isle Sweaters Simplified. I have a whole bunch of Romney Pollipay X wool spun up that I think will knit right to gauge. I will have to swatch before said upcoming dye day on the 22nd. I spun it all to knit a gansey (see above) but I think it came out too hairy. While doing the gauge swatch I should throw in some k and p designs and a cable too be sure.
I’m spinning bombex silk right now and pretty thinly too. I have been working on the same 2 oz for 3 weeks now. I have 3 days worth left and with today being a holiday (there are some advantages to my crapy job) I may just be able to get 2 days worth of spinning in. I’ve already finished one, lets just see if I knit or spin during the evening news tonight.
Now stuff that is getting in the way of my projects, Himself has a job offer. Right now things are very up in the air. We should know by the end of the week if we will be moving. In preparation I spent yesterday painting the bedroom walls. It’s amazing how many scuffs we have put on them in 3 years. If we move or stay they look so much better now.
And since said move will take us to the Big City, good by soap room. I have been making soap like crazy to use up all my supplies and to have a good amount of inventory, sine I still hope to be selling. Hopefully, I will have enough soap to last me a year or two. Lotions I can make in an apartment so I should be set. To top off a day of hard work the last two batches of soap were for fun. I made So much has happened recently, I just don’t know were to start. I have yarn showing up on my doorstep almost every day. That’s good. Two more packages to go and that will be all. Well unless of course I go ahead and buy some superwash wool for the upcoming dye day. One package I won from eBay is wrong. What a pain. Right yarn wrong colors. Very wrong colors. Now I have to go through the hassle of shipping it back and waiting another 2 weeks for it to make the trip back.
The sweater that started all the crazy yarn buying is almost done. Along with 2 others I just started. It’s nice to be productive.
I bought Fishermen’s Sweaters by Alice Starmore. They are my favorite types of sweaters to knit. Cabled aran and gansey sweaters knit in the round seamlessly. While the photography is stunning nowhere can I actually see the sweaters very well. In one photo the model is wrapped in a woven blanket with only the neck ribbing of the sweater showing. Hello, how am I supposed to know if I want to make that one? Ok minnie rant is over and I have 2 picked out that I’m dieing to knit. Too bad they are both for large children. Since I don’t know any large children I will just have to wait until the babies I’m knitting for get bigger. There is one sweater I must make for me but it’s not knit in the round. Bummer. However I think I can change that. Oh and she tells how to make steeks that are finished without using a sewing machine. WooHoo! Fair Isle here I come!
In that note I also picked up Fair Isle Sweaters Simplified. I have a whole bunch of Romney Pollipay X wool spun up that I think will knit right to gauge. I will have to swatch before said upcoming dye day on the 22nd. I spun it all to knit a gansey (see above) but I think it came out too hairy. While doing the gauge swatch I should throw in some k and p designs and a cable too be sure.
I’m spinning bombex silk right now and pretty thinly too. I have been working on the same 2 oz for 3 weeks now. I have 3 days worth left and with today being a holiday (there are some advantages to my crapy job) I may just be able to get 2 days worth of spinning in. I’ve already finished one, lets just see if I knit or spin during the evening news tonight.
Now stuff that is getting in the way of my projects, Himself has a job offer. Right now things are very up in the air. We should know by the end of the week if we will be moving. In preparation I spent yesterday painting the bedroom walls. It’s amazing how many scuffs we have put on them in 3 years. If we move or stay they look so much better now.
And since said move will take us to the Big City, good by soap room. I have been making soap like crazy to use up all my supplies and to have a good amount of inventory, sine I still hope to be selling. Hopefully, I will have enough soap to last me a year or two. Lotions I can make in an apartment so I should be set. To top off a day of hard work the last two batches of soap were for fun. I made tiramisu soap. That’s right a bottom layer of kona coffee and vanilla chestnut scented soap with a white frothy layer on top. It smells wonderful! Wish I could eat it. soap. That’s right a bottom layer of kona coffee and vanilla chestnut scented soap with a white frothy layer on top. It smells wonderful! Wish I could eat it.
The sweater that started all the crazy yarn buying is almost done. Along with 2 others I just started. It’s nice to be productive.
I bought Fishermen’s Sweaters by Alice Starmore. They are my favorite types of sweaters to knit. Cabled aran and gansey sweaters knit in the round seamlessly. While the photography is stunning nowhere can I actually see the sweaters very well. In one photo the model is wrapped in a woven blanket with only the neck ribbing of the sweater showing. Hello, how am I supposed to know if I want to make that one? Ok minnie rant is over and I have 2 picked out that I’m dieing to knit. Too bad they are both for large children. Since I don’t know any large children I will just have to wait until the babies I’m knitting for get bigger. There is one sweater I must make for me but it’s not knit in the round. Bummer. However I think I can change that. Oh and she tells how to make steeks that are finished without using a sewing machine. WooHoo! Fair Isle here I come!
In that note I also picked up Fair Isle Sweaters Simplified. I have a whole bunch of Romney Pollipay X wool spun up that I think will knit right to gauge. I will have to swatch before said upcoming dye day on the 22nd. I spun it all to knit a gansey (see above) but I think it came out too hairy. While doing the gauge swatch I should throw in some k and p designs and a cable too be sure.
I’m spinning bombex silk right now and pretty thinly too. I have been working on the same 2 oz for 3 weeks now. I have 3 days worth left and with today being a holiday (there are some advantages to my crapy job) I may just be able to get 2 days worth of spinning in. I’ve already finished one, lets just see if I knit or spin during the evening news tonight.
Now stuff that is getting in the way of my projects, Himself has a job offer. Right now things are very up in the air. We should know by the end of the week if we will be moving. In preparation I spent yesterday painting the bedroom walls. It’s amazing how many scuffs we have put on them in 3 years. If we move or stay they look so much better now.
And since said move will take us to the Big City, good by soap room. I have been making soap like crazy to use up all my supplies and to have a good amount of inventory, sine I still hope to be selling. Hopefully, I will have enough soap to last me a year or two. Lotions I can make in an apartment so I should be set. To top off a day of hard work the last two batches of soap were for fun. I made So much has happened recently, I just don’t know were to start. I have yarn showing up on my doorstep almost every day. That’s good. Two more packages to go and that will be all. Well unless of course I go ahead and buy some superwash wool for the upcoming dye day. One package I won from eBay is wrong. What a pain. Right yarn wrong colors. Very wrong colors. Now I have to go through the hassle of shipping it back and waiting another 2 weeks for it to make the trip back.
The sweater that started all the crazy yarn buying is almost done. Along with 2 others I just started. It’s nice to be productive.
I bought Fishermen’s Sweaters by Alice Starmore. They are my favorite types of sweaters to knit. Cabled aran and gansey sweaters knit in the round seamlessly. While the photography is stunning nowhere can I actually see the sweaters very well. In one photo the model is wrapped in a woven blanket with only the neck ribbing of the sweater showing. Hello, how am I supposed to know if I want to make that one? Ok minnie rant is over and I have 2 picked out that I’m dieing to knit. Too bad they are both for large children. Since I don’t know any large children I will just have to wait until the babies I’m knitting for get bigger. There is one sweater I must make for me but it’s not knit in the round. Bummer. However I think I can change that. Oh and she tells how to make steeks that are finished without using a sewing machine. WooHoo! Fair Isle here I come!
In that note I also picked up Fair Isle Sweaters Simplified. I have a whole bunch of Romney Pollipay X wool spun up that I think will knit right to gauge. I will have to swatch before said upcoming dye day on the 22nd. I spun it all to knit a gansey (see above) but I think it came out too hairy. While doing the gauge swatch I should throw in some k and p designs and a cable too be sure.
I’m spinning bombex silk right now and pretty thinly too. I have been working on the same 2 oz for 3 weeks now. I have 3 days worth left and with today being a holiday (there are some advantages to my crapy job) I may just be able to get 2 days worth of spinning in. I’ve already finished one, lets just see if I knit or spin during the evening news tonight.
Now stuff that is getting in the way of my projects, Himself has a job offer. Right now things are very up in the air. We should know by the end of the week if we will be moving. In preparation I spent yesterday painting the bedroom walls. It’s amazing how many scuffs we have put on them in 3 years. If we move or stay they look so much better now.
And since said move will take us to the Big City, good by soap room. I have been making soap like crazy to use up all my supplies and to have a good amount of inventory, sine I still hope to be selling. Hopefully, I will have enough soap to last me a year or two. Lotions I can make in an apartment so I should be set. To top off a day of hard work the last two batches of soap were for fun. I made tiramisu soap. That’s right a bottom layer of kona coffee and vanilla chestnut scented soap with a white frothy layer on top. It smells wonderful! Wish I could eat it. soap. That’s right a bottom layer of kona coffee and vanilla chestnut scented soap with a white frothy layer on top. It smells wonderful! Wish I could eat it.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Mmmm....Yarn....
I have had a great bit of finishing going on here. I finished my fibonacci striped sweater that I dyed the yarn for last year. I started and finished my first sweater out of handspun. It started as a wonderful Shetland fleece in a natural caramel color. It matches a pair of my fall boots exactly. I’m very happy with how robust this yarn and therefore the sweater turned out. It feels like it can take some abuse yet isn’t unpleasantly scratchy. In fact it isn’t scratchy at all. I’m sold and will have to spin some more Shetland fleeces. I’m well on my way to finishing my first cabled sweater. I also knitted until I ran out of yarn on a childs hoodie…
Which brings me to what else I have been doing. Let me start at the beginning. 2 years ago I bought enough Mission Falls cotton yarn to make 2 baby sweaters. I finished one and loved it but decided I didn’t want to make it all over again. The yarn sat until I heard that Mission Falls would no longer be making any more. Yes, it has been discontinued. I found Child Hood and decided to make it. The idea was to use up the yarn in my stash and then forget about the brand. I carefully figured out the largest size I could make. I very carefully figured that out, and I was right on the money too. However, some sneaky casting on demon whispered in my ear that I had plenty and I should cast on for the next larger size. Well I did, and I’m sure you can see were this is going. ¾ of the way thru the second sleeve and the same amount thru the hood I run out of yarn. I sit on that for about two weeks. After all I can unravel the hood but there was nothing I could do about the sleeve. I start shopping around. I discover eBay. I called yarn shops. In a fit on OMG I can no longer get this yarn I am now the proud owner of 60 new balls of that stuff. Yes 60. The only thing I can say in my defense is that 40 are mill rejects and at a price I can’t pass up. We will see how bad (hopefully good) they are when they get here. 10 more were going at such a low price I had to bid on them. The last 10 were at regular price, 5 were to finish the sweater, the other 5 were to make a second sweater since I only need a few yards each of the first five to finish the sweater.
Did I end my buying there? No! Also wheeling its way to me is some more mill seconds from Brown Sheep. I LOVE cotton fleece and I’m trying for the first time some lambs pride. They messed up some seriously pretty colors. All different shades of purple and pink. I held strong and left the pinks alone but I did pick up 2 purples, green, and black. Once my credit card stops crying if there is any yarn left I’ll get 2 more purples and probably the pinks too. I think this comes from my not buying any yarn for a full year. I was strong for so long that when I fell of the wagon it was in a big way.
I should mention my spinning. I’m spinning white bombax silk fine so it’s taking a while. It also slips and clumps in interesting ways so I have to take my time and concentrate. I’m also spinning the candle light cotton. I don’t get to often but when I do it feels like butter and goes as fast as wool. I’m loving it. However, at the fine grist I’m spinning it still takes a good long while to fill a bobbin.
Which brings me to what else I have been doing. Let me start at the beginning. 2 years ago I bought enough Mission Falls cotton yarn to make 2 baby sweaters. I finished one and loved it but decided I didn’t want to make it all over again. The yarn sat until I heard that Mission Falls would no longer be making any more. Yes, it has been discontinued. I found Child Hood and decided to make it. The idea was to use up the yarn in my stash and then forget about the brand. I carefully figured out the largest size I could make. I very carefully figured that out, and I was right on the money too. However, some sneaky casting on demon whispered in my ear that I had plenty and I should cast on for the next larger size. Well I did, and I’m sure you can see were this is going. ¾ of the way thru the second sleeve and the same amount thru the hood I run out of yarn. I sit on that for about two weeks. After all I can unravel the hood but there was nothing I could do about the sleeve. I start shopping around. I discover eBay. I called yarn shops. In a fit on OMG I can no longer get this yarn I am now the proud owner of 60 new balls of that stuff. Yes 60. The only thing I can say in my defense is that 40 are mill rejects and at a price I can’t pass up. We will see how bad (hopefully good) they are when they get here. 10 more were going at such a low price I had to bid on them. The last 10 were at regular price, 5 were to finish the sweater, the other 5 were to make a second sweater since I only need a few yards each of the first five to finish the sweater.
Did I end my buying there? No! Also wheeling its way to me is some more mill seconds from Brown Sheep. I LOVE cotton fleece and I’m trying for the first time some lambs pride. They messed up some seriously pretty colors. All different shades of purple and pink. I held strong and left the pinks alone but I did pick up 2 purples, green, and black. Once my credit card stops crying if there is any yarn left I’ll get 2 more purples and probably the pinks too. I think this comes from my not buying any yarn for a full year. I was strong for so long that when I fell of the wagon it was in a big way.
I should mention my spinning. I’m spinning white bombax silk fine so it’s taking a while. It also slips and clumps in interesting ways so I have to take my time and concentrate. I’m also spinning the candle light cotton. I don’t get to often but when I do it feels like butter and goes as fast as wool. I’m loving it. However, at the fine grist I’m spinning it still takes a good long while to fill a bobbin.
Monday, August 08, 2005
the plying that never ends....
What a busy week. I had out of town friends visit for the weekend so I mostly cleaned house then had fun with friends. However, I did get some knitting done and am now working on the second front of child hood. I also tucked the end into a toddler and a baby sweater. While they were off the needles many months ago they are finally done. Right now I’m looking for a nice baby bunting pattern.
The plying of that cotton linen tensile blend took longer than I thought. I can usually ply 2 bobbins worth in an hour of my wool yarn. This was so much thinner it took me 3 days; I think about 5 hours just to ply 4 oz of yarn. However, yesterday I finally finished and I’m now happily spinning the cotton.
Weaving is on hold. I am thinking of buying a new reed and heddles this week so I can weave a color gamp. After all I have been weaving for 9 years now and I think that if a color gamp is completed by the 10th year you are drummed out of weaving groups. It’s something that beginners make and they do look pretty cool hanging on the studio wall.
The plying of that cotton linen tensile blend took longer than I thought. I can usually ply 2 bobbins worth in an hour of my wool yarn. This was so much thinner it took me 3 days; I think about 5 hours just to ply 4 oz of yarn. However, yesterday I finally finished and I’m now happily spinning the cotton.
Weaving is on hold. I am thinking of buying a new reed and heddles this week so I can weave a color gamp. After all I have been weaving for 9 years now and I think that if a color gamp is completed by the 10th year you are drummed out of weaving groups. It’s something that beginners make and they do look pretty cool hanging on the studio wall.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Fresh Sweet Corn
It’s been a full week of knitting. I have 2 baby sweater starts to be unraveled. One is the blueberry sweater of last Saturday. The knit purl design was killing my hands and the dark purple made it impossible to see the pattern in anything but noontime sunlight. I will try using that yarn in a different pattern. The other is Baby Ole in a cotton sock yarn that is poling instead of striping. It looks like a snow leopard. Nice enough but not what I wanted. I will put it away for a while or possible claim the yarn for socks.
Now a project that is going well is Child Hood out of Mission Falls 1824 cotton. It’s going pretty fast now that I have gauge. It took 3 false starts and moving down to a size 3 bamboo needle. This is from a yarn that recommends a 7 needle. I know I knit a bit loose but really! I do love the way the yarn feels in my hands and on my needles. The yarn has been discontinued and I keep wondering if I should buy some more while it’s still available.
My spinning wheel has been humming away on my cotton, linen, rayon blend. Last night I divided the fiber I had left into 9 portions, thinking I could be done spinning in 9 days. As of this morning I only have 6 left. The hard part is deciding what is next on this wheel. Do I finish the mostly full bobbin of ramie? Do I start the cotton silk blend? The cocoon waste? Cotton Wool? Colored cotton? I have a soft pink beige called candlelight that has been waiting for 5 years now. I recently found it and it’s so pretty. Silk Top? SO many choices. If I was a good, dedicated, project finisher I would spin the ramie but right now I think not.
How did I get so much spinning done? After all those weren’t little hanks I had divvied up. Well Saturday morning I snuck out the back door at work to visit the farmers market again. This time I came home with a huge bag of sweet corn, seven pounds of peaches, and a watermelon. Himself inspired by the Iron Chef corn battle made a wonderful corn bisque with straw mushrooms, while I made corn bread, and a friend grilled hamburgers and corn on the cob. After a good and thorough stuffing with everyone saying we couldn’t eat even one more bite, Himself made a peach blueberry cobbler. Oh so tasty. It’s a good thing we took a mile walk while it was cooking since I don’t think I ate so much at THANKSGIVING! With all this cooking and eating taking well over 4 hours I had plenty of spinning time too. I just love summer food and some soft summer cotton spinning. Hmmmm… so good….
The little tid bit about finding the candle light cotton reminds me. I forgot to mention I cleaned out the fiber studio. I put all of my roving into my car and parked it the sun for an incredibly hot week while I deep cleaned and organized the room. Today I will vacuum everything, including behind the bookshelves and under rugs. Hopefully these preventive measures will keep the room m…. free for another year.
Now a project that is going well is Child Hood out of Mission Falls 1824 cotton. It’s going pretty fast now that I have gauge. It took 3 false starts and moving down to a size 3 bamboo needle. This is from a yarn that recommends a 7 needle. I know I knit a bit loose but really! I do love the way the yarn feels in my hands and on my needles. The yarn has been discontinued and I keep wondering if I should buy some more while it’s still available.
My spinning wheel has been humming away on my cotton, linen, rayon blend. Last night I divided the fiber I had left into 9 portions, thinking I could be done spinning in 9 days. As of this morning I only have 6 left. The hard part is deciding what is next on this wheel. Do I finish the mostly full bobbin of ramie? Do I start the cotton silk blend? The cocoon waste? Cotton Wool? Colored cotton? I have a soft pink beige called candlelight that has been waiting for 5 years now. I recently found it and it’s so pretty. Silk Top? SO many choices. If I was a good, dedicated, project finisher I would spin the ramie but right now I think not.
How did I get so much spinning done? After all those weren’t little hanks I had divvied up. Well Saturday morning I snuck out the back door at work to visit the farmers market again. This time I came home with a huge bag of sweet corn, seven pounds of peaches, and a watermelon. Himself inspired by the Iron Chef corn battle made a wonderful corn bisque with straw mushrooms, while I made corn bread, and a friend grilled hamburgers and corn on the cob. After a good and thorough stuffing with everyone saying we couldn’t eat even one more bite, Himself made a peach blueberry cobbler. Oh so tasty. It’s a good thing we took a mile walk while it was cooking since I don’t think I ate so much at THANKSGIVING! With all this cooking and eating taking well over 4 hours I had plenty of spinning time too. I just love summer food and some soft summer cotton spinning. Hmmmm… so good….
The little tid bit about finding the candle light cotton reminds me. I forgot to mention I cleaned out the fiber studio. I put all of my roving into my car and parked it the sun for an incredibly hot week while I deep cleaned and organized the room. Today I will vacuum everything, including behind the bookshelves and under rugs. Hopefully these preventive measures will keep the room m…. free for another year.
Fresh Sweet Corn
It’s been a full week of knitting. I have 2 baby sweater starts to be unraveled. One is the blueberry sweater of last Saturday. The knit purl design was killing my hands and the dark purple made it impossible to see the pattern in anything but noontime sunlight. I will try using that yarn in a different pattern. The other is Baby Ole in a cotton sock yarn that is poling instead of striping. It looks like a snow leopard. Nice enough but not what I wanted. I will put it away for a while or possible claim the yarn for socks.
Now a project that is going well is Child Hood out of Mission Falls 1824 cotton. It’s going pretty fast now that I have gauge. It took 3 false starts and moving down to a size 3 bamboo needle. This is from a yarn that recommends a 7 needle. I know I knit a bit loose but really! I do love the way the yarn feels in my hands and on my needles. The yarn has been discontinued and I keep wondering if I should buy some more while it’s still available.
My spinning wheel has been humming away on my cotton, linen, rayon blend. Last night I divided the fiber I had left into 9 portions, thinking I could be done spinning in 9 days. As of this morning I only have 6 left. The hard part is deciding what is next on this wheel. Do I finish the mostly full bobbin of ramie? Do I start the cotton silk blend? The cocoon waste? Cotton Wool? Colored cotton? I have a soft pink beige called candlelight that has been waiting for 5 years now. I recently found it and it’s so pretty. Silk Top? SO many choices. If I was a good, dedicated, project finisher I would spin the ramie but right now I think not.
How did I get so much spinning done? After all those weren’t little hanks I had divvied up. Well Saturday morning I snuck out the back door at work to visit the farmers market again. This time I came home with a huge bag of sweet corn, seven pounds of peaches, and a watermelon. Himself inspired by the Iron Chef corn battle made a wonderful corn bisque with straw mushrooms, while I made corn bread, and a friend grilled hamburgers and corn on the cob. After a good and thorough stuffing with everyone saying we couldn’t eat even one more bite, Himself made a peach blueberry cobbler. Oh so tasty. It’s a good thing we took a mile walk while it was cooking since I don’t think I ate so much at THANKSGIVING! With all this cooking and eating taking well over 4 hours I had plenty of spinning time too. I just love summer food and some soft summer cotton spinning. Hmmmm… so good….
The little tid bit about finding the candle light cotton reminds me. I forgot to mention I cleaned out the fiber studio. I put all of my roving into my car and parked it the sun for an incredibly hot week while I deep cleaned and organized the room. Today I will vacuum everything, including behind the bookshelves and under rugs. Hopefully these preventive measures will keep the room m…. free for another year.
Now a project that is going well is Child Hood out of Mission Falls 1824 cotton. It’s going pretty fast now that I have gauge. It took 3 false starts and moving down to a size 3 bamboo needle. This is from a yarn that recommends a 7 needle. I know I knit a bit loose but really! I do love the way the yarn feels in my hands and on my needles. The yarn has been discontinued and I keep wondering if I should buy some more while it’s still available.
My spinning wheel has been humming away on my cotton, linen, rayon blend. Last night I divided the fiber I had left into 9 portions, thinking I could be done spinning in 9 days. As of this morning I only have 6 left. The hard part is deciding what is next on this wheel. Do I finish the mostly full bobbin of ramie? Do I start the cotton silk blend? The cocoon waste? Cotton Wool? Colored cotton? I have a soft pink beige called candlelight that has been waiting for 5 years now. I recently found it and it’s so pretty. Silk Top? SO many choices. If I was a good, dedicated, project finisher I would spin the ramie but right now I think not.
How did I get so much spinning done? After all those weren’t little hanks I had divvied up. Well Saturday morning I snuck out the back door at work to visit the farmers market again. This time I came home with a huge bag of sweet corn, seven pounds of peaches, and a watermelon. Himself inspired by the Iron Chef corn battle made a wonderful corn bisque with straw mushrooms, while I made corn bread, and a friend grilled hamburgers and corn on the cob. After a good and thorough stuffing with everyone saying we couldn’t eat even one more bite, Himself made a peach blueberry cobbler. Oh so tasty. It’s a good thing we took a mile walk while it was cooking since I don’t think I ate so much at THANKSGIVING! With all this cooking and eating taking well over 4 hours I had plenty of spinning time too. I just love summer food and some soft summer cotton spinning. Hmmmm… so good….
The little tid bit about finding the candle light cotton reminds me. I forgot to mention I cleaned out the fiber studio. I put all of my roving into my car and parked it the sun for an incredibly hot week while I deep cleaned and organized the room. Today I will vacuum everything, including behind the bookshelves and under rugs. Hopefully these preventive measures will keep the room m…. free for another year.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
blueberry summer day
It’s been so long since I posted and I have done so much it’s overwhelming. So I will skip it all and just start with now. Yesterday I slipped out the back door at work to go the farmers market across the street. I was hoping for some corn but it’s still too soon. Instead I bought a gallon of fresh blueberries.
After work I turned into the LYS since I hadn’t visited it in months. I was looking for easy care yarn for a baby sweater. I picked up a deep purple the color of blueberry pies. Once I got home I spent the afternoon making and freezing blueberry waffles while casting on the purple yarn. A baby sweater is now well on it’s way and those blueberry waffles are the best I’ve ever tasted.
After work I turned into the LYS since I hadn’t visited it in months. I was looking for easy care yarn for a baby sweater. I picked up a deep purple the color of blueberry pies. Once I got home I spent the afternoon making and freezing blueberry waffles while casting on the purple yarn. A baby sweater is now well on it’s way and those blueberry waffles are the best I’ve ever tasted.
Monday, February 07, 2005
Busy Week
It’s been a busy week. I spent all of last week moving the loom and yarn room from the small upstairs bedroom to the larger basement bedroom. The new room looks great and there should be room for the loom I’m buying Saturday. The down side was to make this move Himself wanted all of my wool out of the other basement bedroom so he could set up his new computer. Well even though my new room was larger than my last it isn’t big enough to hold all of my fiber from both rooms. The only thing I could do was to send all of my raw fleeces off to Wooly Knob to be professionally washed and carded. I sent off 3 boxes the largest of which tipped the scales at 30lbs. I will get them back mid April all clean and fluffy ready to be spun.
So did you notice that I’m buying a new loom Saturday? It goes with the new computer himself bought. We brokered a deal. It was time for us to upgrade but he really wanted a top of the line gaming computer, more power than our little family needed. So he got his top of the line computer and I get a new loom. Now shhh don’t tell anybody I think I will be coming home with 2 used looms on Saturday. Don’t worry I’m not being sneaky. The two looms cost less that himself and I agreed that I would spend on one. The sneaky part is where will I put this other loom. The living room? the bedroom? If both come home with me I will have jumped from only having one loom for 7 years to 4 looms in 2 months. Not bad. Actually it worked the same way with my spinning wheel. I had the same Ashford Kiwi spinning wheel for 5 years and when I finally let myself buy a second wheel it was less than 6 months before I had my 3rd. However, I did end up selling my Kiwi and I find 2 wheels to be a nice even number.
Even with all this talk about looms I’m not weaving much. I’m still working to weave off the yardage that came on my table loom. My Norwood still stands empty but I have measured half the warp needed for some kitchen towels. I have spent all my weaving time moving my fiber room. I’m still spinning. I’m back to going full force on that cotton linen yarn to weave into clothing cloth. I may be able to finish that by June, I hope.
Knitting is stalled. Although, I did finish knitting my odds and ends vest and I finally tucked down all the ends in a sweater I knitted last spring so I could finally wear it. Of course I spilled some soup on it right away but it should wash out fine. And I finished a pair of socks and I started working on one of my UFO sweaters and I’ve started the hers in the his and hers sweaters I’m making. But really not much knitting the last two weeks.
I decided my yarn diet was officially over this month and that buying a new loom needed to be commemorated with some new ½ priced yarn. However, in moving all my yarn to a new room I realized that after working nonstop for 6 months and giving over 20 fiber gifts at Christmas I still hadn’t touched the surface. So I called the fiber diet off as pointless. Seeing as how I still shouldn’t be buying more yarn I just declared 2005 the year of the book and equipment. This year I have given myself permission to buy the books and equipment I always thought was too expensive. Well No More! Now I just have to save longer between purchases but I think it will work out well. It will also make driving home from fiber fairs easer. Instead of spending $50 on wool fleeces and not being able to see out the back window, I can buy $50 in books and it will be a little stack on the front seat.
So did you notice that I’m buying a new loom Saturday? It goes with the new computer himself bought. We brokered a deal. It was time for us to upgrade but he really wanted a top of the line gaming computer, more power than our little family needed. So he got his top of the line computer and I get a new loom. Now shhh don’t tell anybody I think I will be coming home with 2 used looms on Saturday. Don’t worry I’m not being sneaky. The two looms cost less that himself and I agreed that I would spend on one. The sneaky part is where will I put this other loom. The living room? the bedroom? If both come home with me I will have jumped from only having one loom for 7 years to 4 looms in 2 months. Not bad. Actually it worked the same way with my spinning wheel. I had the same Ashford Kiwi spinning wheel for 5 years and when I finally let myself buy a second wheel it was less than 6 months before I had my 3rd. However, I did end up selling my Kiwi and I find 2 wheels to be a nice even number.
Even with all this talk about looms I’m not weaving much. I’m still working to weave off the yardage that came on my table loom. My Norwood still stands empty but I have measured half the warp needed for some kitchen towels. I have spent all my weaving time moving my fiber room. I’m still spinning. I’m back to going full force on that cotton linen yarn to weave into clothing cloth. I may be able to finish that by June, I hope.
Knitting is stalled. Although, I did finish knitting my odds and ends vest and I finally tucked down all the ends in a sweater I knitted last spring so I could finally wear it. Of course I spilled some soup on it right away but it should wash out fine. And I finished a pair of socks and I started working on one of my UFO sweaters and I’ve started the hers in the his and hers sweaters I’m making. But really not much knitting the last two weeks.
I decided my yarn diet was officially over this month and that buying a new loom needed to be commemorated with some new ½ priced yarn. However, in moving all my yarn to a new room I realized that after working nonstop for 6 months and giving over 20 fiber gifts at Christmas I still hadn’t touched the surface. So I called the fiber diet off as pointless. Seeing as how I still shouldn’t be buying more yarn I just declared 2005 the year of the book and equipment. This year I have given myself permission to buy the books and equipment I always thought was too expensive. Well No More! Now I just have to save longer between purchases but I think it will work out well. It will also make driving home from fiber fairs easer. Instead of spending $50 on wool fleeces and not being able to see out the back window, I can buy $50 in books and it will be a little stack on the front seat.
Monday, January 17, 2005
Blaa
It’s sort of a blaa day today. A paid day off and I’m not motivated to do anything. I did spin for an hour this morning along with going through my stash for tomorrows Shop and Swap. It turns out that I’m too emotionally attached to my yarn to get rid of much. I went in with good intentions of doing a slash and burn. Instead I dusted the shelves, rearranged the balls and put all but the most hideous back. The yarn I am willing to get rid of is so ugly that I can’t put a price on it. I think it is all yarn I got free at a Swap & Shop when I was a new weaver.
On the knitting front- I started the aran sweater but disliked the back and forth knitting. I pulled it off the needles to knit it in the round. However, since it was the same set of needles to finish my odds and ends vest I went back to work on that instead. All I have left is the neckline and armhole ribbing. With some work I could finish tonight. I will then be down to two unfinished sweaters and one hat. 3 UFOs! That number is so low I may decide to keep up the trend and finish them all before moving on. Or back to that aran. We will see when the time comes.
Spinning has been on hold. However, this morning I plied up some odds and ends. The now finished skeins of yarn will be easier to store than the energized balls of singles. I have a few more to go before I’m finished. I think I may work on that this afternoon during the news.
Weaving has been on a bigger hold than the spinning. I finally decided what I want to do with the wool tweed for my Siberian parka. I’ll weave it on the larger table loom, hopefully in a hounds tooth pattern. However, the table loom came with a project already on it and the floor loom still sits empty. The last thing I wove on it was handspun so up next needs to be commercial yarn and cotton too since that is what I have so much of in my stash. I could use some towels to match my kitchen. I have been living here for two years now and still using my perfectly functional old towels. However, the late 80’s colors of teal, burgundy, sage, and pink aren’t quite right in the 70’s brown and gold kitchen I have now. I’ll think on it for a while and see if any inspiration hits.
Well at lest I have one thing finished today. It’s only 1:00 and already supper is done. Tonight Himself and I will be dining on home made hummus and fresh baked wheat bread. It may be time for me to go take a nap.
On the knitting front- I started the aran sweater but disliked the back and forth knitting. I pulled it off the needles to knit it in the round. However, since it was the same set of needles to finish my odds and ends vest I went back to work on that instead. All I have left is the neckline and armhole ribbing. With some work I could finish tonight. I will then be down to two unfinished sweaters and one hat. 3 UFOs! That number is so low I may decide to keep up the trend and finish them all before moving on. Or back to that aran. We will see when the time comes.
Spinning has been on hold. However, this morning I plied up some odds and ends. The now finished skeins of yarn will be easier to store than the energized balls of singles. I have a few more to go before I’m finished. I think I may work on that this afternoon during the news.
Weaving has been on a bigger hold than the spinning. I finally decided what I want to do with the wool tweed for my Siberian parka. I’ll weave it on the larger table loom, hopefully in a hounds tooth pattern. However, the table loom came with a project already on it and the floor loom still sits empty. The last thing I wove on it was handspun so up next needs to be commercial yarn and cotton too since that is what I have so much of in my stash. I could use some towels to match my kitchen. I have been living here for two years now and still using my perfectly functional old towels. However, the late 80’s colors of teal, burgundy, sage, and pink aren’t quite right in the 70’s brown and gold kitchen I have now. I’ll think on it for a while and see if any inspiration hits.
Well at lest I have one thing finished today. It’s only 1:00 and already supper is done. Tonight Himself and I will be dining on home made hummus and fresh baked wheat bread. It may be time for me to go take a nap.
Monday, January 10, 2005
Pretty Good Year
Today I have a sore throat and I think I’m coming down with a cold. What a way to spend my day off. However, last week was a good one. But with everything the bad comes with the good. My Giant Angora Kisses broke her back in the cage. The vet said that sometimes happens to domestic rabbits and we had her put down. Sad but she didn’t seem to suffer.
However, there was plenty of good last week too. I finished my child sweater at our monthly knitting gathering. Then this morning while drinking hot cranberry juice- that’s a dangerous combo- I finished my alpaca seed stitch poncho. I designed it all myself and it looks it. However, it’s soft and warm so it will do. The angora trim I added to make it longer really added and improved the piece greatly.
On Saturday himself and I went shopping. One of his friends took us to O’Fallen outside of St. Louis. Right off the highway is this little shopping Mecca. Right next to Pet Co- the whole reason for this trip is that Joey won’t eat regular dog food so twice a year we dive an hour to get his special chicken and lamb blend. Right next to Pet Co was a Borders so we stopped for gingerbread mocha and I picked up a knitting book, The Best of Lopi. I like the patterns and the seamless knitting in the round. All I have to do now is buy a ball of lopi yarn so I can spin something similar. As we got to the counter himself with his own book suggested we spend the family money instead of our personal dollars for the purchase that day. Well anytime I don’t have to use my money for a yarn purchase, even a book I’m happy.
We then spent the rest of the day buying shoes and looking for work clothes. However in that shopping area there were 3 craft or fabric stores and an art supply store. If a fit of generosity himself suggests I shop in the art supply store while he browsed the fantasy shop near by. Then I looked at yarn in one of the craft store. Some of it was very nice but I didn’t feel the urge to buy any. All and All a very good shopping day.
On Sunday I picked out by e-mail a little English Angora doe. A beautiful blue eyed white doe that also caries the chocolate and tort genes I like so much.
So now the child’s sweater and the poncho are done I can start on the two aran sweaters with a clean conscious. However, I’m strongly thinking of finishing my odds and ends vest first. If I finish it I would only have 2 sweaters left in my UFO pile, and they can easily wait for later. I had hoped to clear out the yarn room today, after all the shop and swap is only one week away, but this cold is keeping me down. Maybe I will feel up to it this evening.
However, there was plenty of good last week too. I finished my child sweater at our monthly knitting gathering. Then this morning while drinking hot cranberry juice- that’s a dangerous combo- I finished my alpaca seed stitch poncho. I designed it all myself and it looks it. However, it’s soft and warm so it will do. The angora trim I added to make it longer really added and improved the piece greatly.
On Saturday himself and I went shopping. One of his friends took us to O’Fallen outside of St. Louis. Right off the highway is this little shopping Mecca. Right next to Pet Co- the whole reason for this trip is that Joey won’t eat regular dog food so twice a year we dive an hour to get his special chicken and lamb blend. Right next to Pet Co was a Borders so we stopped for gingerbread mocha and I picked up a knitting book, The Best of Lopi. I like the patterns and the seamless knitting in the round. All I have to do now is buy a ball of lopi yarn so I can spin something similar. As we got to the counter himself with his own book suggested we spend the family money instead of our personal dollars for the purchase that day. Well anytime I don’t have to use my money for a yarn purchase, even a book I’m happy.
We then spent the rest of the day buying shoes and looking for work clothes. However in that shopping area there were 3 craft or fabric stores and an art supply store. If a fit of generosity himself suggests I shop in the art supply store while he browsed the fantasy shop near by. Then I looked at yarn in one of the craft store. Some of it was very nice but I didn’t feel the urge to buy any. All and All a very good shopping day.
On Sunday I picked out by e-mail a little English Angora doe. A beautiful blue eyed white doe that also caries the chocolate and tort genes I like so much.
So now the child’s sweater and the poncho are done I can start on the two aran sweaters with a clean conscious. However, I’m strongly thinking of finishing my odds and ends vest first. If I finish it I would only have 2 sweaters left in my UFO pile, and they can easily wait for later. I had hoped to clear out the yarn room today, after all the shop and swap is only one week away, but this cold is keeping me down. Maybe I will feel up to it this evening.
Monday, January 03, 2005
New Year
We made it home safe. Even with 9 days of traveling and passing 4 known yarn stores without one stop I still did pretty well this holiday season. I came home with a table loom, a book on sewing hand woven fabric, a book on designing weaving drafts, 2 bags of yarn, and a book of aran and cabled sweater knitting patterns.
The giving of Christmas gifts went well too. With plenty of furious yarn tucking and burring I was able to finish all presents the night before opening. The handspun scarf did have to make a trip through the washing machine after it was open but everything else made it in time. I am very happy with that scarf and may ask for it back this summer to enter in a few shows
I can’t wait to begin the New Year and the new projects. The aran book has a sweater pattern that the cables interlock in a basket weave. While the sweater is knitted I like how it conjures up images of weaving. I just have to show it to himself to make sure he would wear it before I start. I like it so much that mine will be the same sweater in a different color instead of a different sweater in the same theme as I had envisioned.
The table loom is wide enough that I can finally start weaving the cloth for my jacket. I just have to decide if I want to weave the entire yardage on the table loom or only the front and back panels. Weaving is quicker on the floor loom but warping two looms with the same fabric seems wrong, so very wrong.
As soon as I got home from traveling I pulled out my spinning wheel and started on the second 4 oz of lyocell, cotton, flax blend. This one is bleached white and so much softer than the natural I’m sort of regretting my decision to ply the two together. I have added too much twist to use them as singles so when I get this spun up I’ll do some samples with the plying to see what I like. I can’t wait to warp a loom with the commercial cotton linen blend I have and start weaving the cloth for a shirt. See that is why I don’t want to try up booth looms with the same fabric.
However, before starting new projects I want to take some time and finish some (but not all) of my old. I only have half a sleeve on my child’s guernsey left and my odd and end vest is knitted up to the armholes. Both of those need to be finished before I forget what I’m doing. However, my two other unfinished sweater will have to languish a while longer. Maybe I’ll pick them up next fall.
The giving of Christmas gifts went well too. With plenty of furious yarn tucking and burring I was able to finish all presents the night before opening. The handspun scarf did have to make a trip through the washing machine after it was open but everything else made it in time. I am very happy with that scarf and may ask for it back this summer to enter in a few shows
I can’t wait to begin the New Year and the new projects. The aran book has a sweater pattern that the cables interlock in a basket weave. While the sweater is knitted I like how it conjures up images of weaving. I just have to show it to himself to make sure he would wear it before I start. I like it so much that mine will be the same sweater in a different color instead of a different sweater in the same theme as I had envisioned.
The table loom is wide enough that I can finally start weaving the cloth for my jacket. I just have to decide if I want to weave the entire yardage on the table loom or only the front and back panels. Weaving is quicker on the floor loom but warping two looms with the same fabric seems wrong, so very wrong.
As soon as I got home from traveling I pulled out my spinning wheel and started on the second 4 oz of lyocell, cotton, flax blend. This one is bleached white and so much softer than the natural I’m sort of regretting my decision to ply the two together. I have added too much twist to use them as singles so when I get this spun up I’ll do some samples with the plying to see what I like. I can’t wait to warp a loom with the commercial cotton linen blend I have and start weaving the cloth for a shirt. See that is why I don’t want to try up booth looms with the same fabric.
However, before starting new projects I want to take some time and finish some (but not all) of my old. I only have half a sleeve on my child’s guernsey left and my odd and end vest is knitted up to the armholes. Both of those need to be finished before I forget what I’m doing. However, my two other unfinished sweater will have to languish a while longer. Maybe I’ll pick them up next fall.
Monday, December 13, 2004
Just Checking In
Things are moving right along. I still have 2 Christmas presents that must be made. And I have 4 that are all the way finished. I also have a table full of items that are off the needles but still need the ends tucked in. I suspect that end tucking will take me all week.
Other than this glut of Christmas knitting I am still spinning. I just finished rainbow wool that I plied with purple merino wool. I had plenty of purple left so I spun that up and plied it with it’s self to be a complementary yarn. Now I am spinning a sock blend that I dyed myself. It’s a blend of super wash wool, mohair, and nylon. It’s supposed to be machine washable but I’m not so sure about the mohair. It’s also not as soft as I like but I guess that’s ok for socks. We will just have to see once it’s knitted. It is a stunning color way; red, golden yellow, forest green, and denim blue. It will be interesting to see it when it’s done.
That’s it for now. I really need to be knitting not typing. I will be glad once this is over since my hands are starting to ache at night.
Other than this glut of Christmas knitting I am still spinning. I just finished rainbow wool that I plied with purple merino wool. I had plenty of purple left so I spun that up and plied it with it’s self to be a complementary yarn. Now I am spinning a sock blend that I dyed myself. It’s a blend of super wash wool, mohair, and nylon. It’s supposed to be machine washable but I’m not so sure about the mohair. It’s also not as soft as I like but I guess that’s ok for socks. We will just have to see once it’s knitted. It is a stunning color way; red, golden yellow, forest green, and denim blue. It will be interesting to see it when it’s done.
That’s it for now. I really need to be knitting not typing. I will be glad once this is over since my hands are starting to ache at night.
Monday, December 06, 2004
Knitting for Christmas
Knitting for Christmas is coming right along. I have hade a few set backs. First that ugly hat and now a wonderfully thick and warm hat knit in variegated hand spun yarn in a men’s large. The variegated yarn with only a touch of pink knitted into a hat with 2 bold pink stripes. Possibly not the best option for a man’s hat. Now I’m working on another hat. This one is out of commercial yarn knitted with double thickness and will have a deer in a color-stranding pattern along the brim. Of course more socks are on the needles too. Did I say last time that the pink splattered ones are done?
I finished spinning a white alpaca and silk blend and just started on some bats I carded up from some leftover green and pink wool. I added a generous helping of flash so the yarn should glitter nicely when done. I think I will finish it tonight so I can wash it along with the alpaca silk.
I had thought the loom would stay empty for a few more months. However, I may try to dash off some bookmarks before Christmas. First I need to go to the quilt shop and see if they carry silk sewing thread. If not hopefully I can still find something nicer that the cotton polyester sold at walmart.
This post is pretty short but I got to get back to knitting. There is still so much more to finish. I really want to be done with all I have to make by Thursday.
I finished spinning a white alpaca and silk blend and just started on some bats I carded up from some leftover green and pink wool. I added a generous helping of flash so the yarn should glitter nicely when done. I think I will finish it tonight so I can wash it along with the alpaca silk.
I had thought the loom would stay empty for a few more months. However, I may try to dash off some bookmarks before Christmas. First I need to go to the quilt shop and see if they carry silk sewing thread. If not hopefully I can still find something nicer that the cotton polyester sold at walmart.
This post is pretty short but I got to get back to knitting. There is still so much more to finish. I really want to be done with all I have to make by Thursday.
Monday, November 29, 2004
Nothing New
Everything is about the same since I last posted. The loom is still empty and will stay that way. I still have to decide on the pattern I want to use. I’m going to need to weave about 9 yards. Do I want to wrestle with a design for that long? Do I want to have the whole thing in plain weave? Twill? I do like the idea of pen stripes so I have considered log cabin. I think I will leave all of this until after Christmas.
Knitting is going. I finished the splattered socks and am now working on a pair in a blue and gray rag yarn. It’s going pretty fast. We just bought 2 seasons of Far Scape and have spent several days camped out watching. Since I want to give it a bit more of my attention than I give to regular movies knitting is working better than spinning.
I did finish the blue sock yarn on my wheel and am now spinning 4oz of alpaca silk blend. This is to be a Christmas present. One of the few that must be completed. It will be an aran wimple if all goes well. If all goes supper well it will have matching gauntlets. In case you were wondering gauntlets are supper fancy fingerless gloves that go up the arm. However, I don’t know if 4 ounces will be enough to make the set. I really hope that I will have enough just to make the wimple.
I will be placing an order today. Really I don’t order from yarn shops weekly. Or at least I don’t think I do. I suppose I should start keeping track. After discussing it with Himself about what to make his father I have to buy some yarn. I pushed for socks so I could stay on my yarn diet but he thought socks weren’t cool enough and really wanted the fingerless gloves I had mentioned earlier. Socks not romantic enough? Just wait! This year all my hand knit sock are getting speshal packaging that will humble all recipients. However, Himself doesn’t see it or at least hasn’t seen it yet and wants the gloves. So today I will be buying the yarn for that. After many hours of looking and listing I have my order to that yarn only- it was very hard to keep others from joining it, 4 aran sweater patters to make his and her sweater from some yarn I bought last summer, and some large knitting needles to knit my first handspun yarn into a hat. So all and all it looks like I have been very good on my yarn diet doesn’t it? Just a bit of new yarn that will be immediately used up and worked off not to join the stash? Not quite. This is more like himself asking that I make 5 pounds of fudge for the office party and only taking one of it with him and leaving the rest for me to eat. The fingerless gloves will take a fraction of the hank it comes in. The rest will have to go into storage until I work it off.
Note. I just got off the phone with the yarn shop. They don’t carry the patterns I want. I will have to do more searching for a place that carries them, but not this week.
Knitting is going. I finished the splattered socks and am now working on a pair in a blue and gray rag yarn. It’s going pretty fast. We just bought 2 seasons of Far Scape and have spent several days camped out watching. Since I want to give it a bit more of my attention than I give to regular movies knitting is working better than spinning.
I did finish the blue sock yarn on my wheel and am now spinning 4oz of alpaca silk blend. This is to be a Christmas present. One of the few that must be completed. It will be an aran wimple if all goes well. If all goes supper well it will have matching gauntlets. In case you were wondering gauntlets are supper fancy fingerless gloves that go up the arm. However, I don’t know if 4 ounces will be enough to make the set. I really hope that I will have enough just to make the wimple.
I will be placing an order today. Really I don’t order from yarn shops weekly. Or at least I don’t think I do. I suppose I should start keeping track. After discussing it with Himself about what to make his father I have to buy some yarn. I pushed for socks so I could stay on my yarn diet but he thought socks weren’t cool enough and really wanted the fingerless gloves I had mentioned earlier. Socks not romantic enough? Just wait! This year all my hand knit sock are getting speshal packaging that will humble all recipients. However, Himself doesn’t see it or at least hasn’t seen it yet and wants the gloves. So today I will be buying the yarn for that. After many hours of looking and listing I have my order to that yarn only- it was very hard to keep others from joining it, 4 aran sweater patters to make his and her sweater from some yarn I bought last summer, and some large knitting needles to knit my first handspun yarn into a hat. So all and all it looks like I have been very good on my yarn diet doesn’t it? Just a bit of new yarn that will be immediately used up and worked off not to join the stash? Not quite. This is more like himself asking that I make 5 pounds of fudge for the office party and only taking one of it with him and leaving the rest for me to eat. The fingerless gloves will take a fraction of the hank it comes in. The rest will have to go into storage until I work it off.
Note. I just got off the phone with the yarn shop. They don’t carry the patterns I want. I will have to do more searching for a place that carries them, but not this week.
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Fiber Festivals and Flings
This last weekend I was able to attend a fiber festival. Going to one of these is a joy. Even smalls one have much to offer. I came home with a French Angora buck that Himself named MoJo. Hopefully the name will be good luck and he will have a better time with the ladies than Deano. Deano has had several nights out and once again the due date passed with no babies. I think he missed sex ed at school.
Lets see I also came home with a drop spindle. I think it is the nicest one I own. Driftwood Spindles made by Gary Rebman. The wood is Black Locust and Jatoba. Not the prettiest available (I really liked the dark look of the black walnut and the zebra wood) but I thought it spun the best and is pretty enough. I believe I will spin up some wool/mohair/nylon blend I have dyed to be socks.
I also got an old metal ball winder. It has some problems but I think they can be fixed and the metal gears will last longer than the new plastic ones. They seem to strip after a few years of use. At the same table I got a seashell diz. The bright colored shells that look like peacocks. Much prettier then the horn diz I already own and it didn’t hurt that I was able to make a trade for it.
My last purchase was some old Spin Off magazines. I love reading them and all the ones I have are just worn out with use. It’s always exciting to get old ones and it is helping me fill out my collection. I doubt I will ever have a full set but I’m working on it. The same booth sold yarn. Makes sense since they are a yarn mill where you send you fiber in to be spun into yarn. So anyway there is this yarn, brown alpaca with little bits of green, purple, and orange through out. Wonderful yarn. I thought long and hard since my stash doesn’t contain the yarn for one Christmas present that must be made. However, it should be black yarn and this, as pretty as it was, wasn’t going to be right. So I was able to stay on my stash diet.
The two spinning wheels are busy. On one I have blue sock yarn. It will be a rather thick three ply. On the other wheel is the corn silk; you know the stuff that smells like corn syrup? After reading a few of the old Spin Offs I just bought I ran into two articles that really like spinning synthetic yarn for socks because of their wicking qualities. I may give this yarn a try. Or I will place it in the tote with my other thin yarns to be woven into clothes.
The loom is still empty and for the same reason as last time. I suspect it will stay empty until spring. But my needles are going strong. I’m serious about reducing my stash. Ok all the projects I am listing still need the ends worked in but they are off the needles. 2 hats. One is so ugly it’s cute, that’s according to Himself. It was just ugly until I added the pompoms and the bow. That really helped. I feel pretty sorry for it so I have worn it a few times on our evening walks. It has earflaps so it keeps my face warm. Good because last night’s walk was in frozen sleet. The weatherman called it snow but I know ice on my eyeballs when I feel it. Another hat is finished. This one is extra nice made out of very soft wool for a friend that doesn’t think she likes wool. I have also finished a pair of socks and well on my way to finishing another pair. Finally the child sweater is working its way down to the last cuff. A few more hats a few more pairs of scarves some boiled wool mittens and some fingerless gloves and Christmas will be done. Can I finish all of this in time? Who knows? Especially since the socks I have been working on are for me and the child’s sweater isn’t for anybody. It seems that they should be saved for after Christmas but I must listen to the project that cries the loudest. Also an abandoned project usually dies and all that can be done is reclaiming the yarn. It’s just too hard to pick up were it was left off. I really hope the four sweater bodies I set aside this year can be revived later this winter and finished.
I feel like I should list the yarn that each project is coming from. Like that super nice wool hat. That yarn was to be my first sweater. I had a perfect natural brown fleece. Perfect except all that hay. I bought some combs and combed it out really nice. I combed and combed and combed. I did this for hours. I had a huge basket full of bird nests of combed top. Perfect. Half an hour of spinning and 2 balls of yarn later the combed top was all used up. Hmmm well several more months of this and I would have a sweater. I put that yarn away. It seems that I don’t like combing all that much after all. 3 years later it is time to forget that sweater and the yarn is just the thing for a hat. I have enough that I think I can make a second one.
The socks where a pair I had worked on while ridding the train to Chicago to see Rembrandt exhibit last spring. Since I was on the train I couldn’t try them on for size. Booth needed the toes ripped out and reknitted to the right length before I could wear them. The socks in progress are from yarn that I got a gift exchange. They are a good brand of sock yarn but an unfortunate color. That’s how they ended up in the white elephant exchange in the fist place. I have tons of pretty sock yarn in my stash but felt that I should knit this one. The socks are turning out great but the color is still unfortunate. The main color is sweatshirt gray. That’s fine. However, it has dashes of hot pink. It looks like gym socks that had been washed with an ink pen that leaked or worse it reminds me of all the hunters that come in where I work wearing blood splattered sweat shirts. It seems they take off the camouflage jacket before moving the dear to the car. I guess blood on camouflage doesn’t look nice either. Finally that poor ugly cute hat. It was yarn that was sampling for a mixed fiber jacket. The jacket was to be the same wool plied with a different fiber for each strip. It was going to be stunning white on white all different textures and natural white color. However, that pattern is still in the publishing faze and by the time I can buy my very own autographed copy I will want to make new samples out of my new stash.
My stack of finished projects is mounting but my stash is hardly diminishing. However, my yarn stash diet is progressing nicely. I haven’t bought any yarn for months. Except for those 2 balls of my very favorite BFL wool made into yarn. I have never owned mill spun BFL wool yarn, and it was on a supper sale, and it fit easily into the spinning fiber I ordered. I just couldn’t resist, two balls that is only enough for one pair of socks so it will hardly take any room in the stash. I don’t remember putting myself on a spinning fiber diet so the 12 pounds of sock blend top, merino top, and coridale cross top I bought two weeks ago weren’t cheating. I was out of white fiber for dyeing. And after spending all day last Monday dyeing I worked my way through 8 of those 12 pounds so I am almost out again. Maybe I will need more fiber before the BFL yarn goes out of sock. It is such a nice yarn. I must get back to knitting. Maybe I’ll have time to dress the loom this weekend after all.
Lets see I also came home with a drop spindle. I think it is the nicest one I own. Driftwood Spindles made by Gary Rebman. The wood is Black Locust and Jatoba. Not the prettiest available (I really liked the dark look of the black walnut and the zebra wood) but I thought it spun the best and is pretty enough. I believe I will spin up some wool/mohair/nylon blend I have dyed to be socks.
I also got an old metal ball winder. It has some problems but I think they can be fixed and the metal gears will last longer than the new plastic ones. They seem to strip after a few years of use. At the same table I got a seashell diz. The bright colored shells that look like peacocks. Much prettier then the horn diz I already own and it didn’t hurt that I was able to make a trade for it.
My last purchase was some old Spin Off magazines. I love reading them and all the ones I have are just worn out with use. It’s always exciting to get old ones and it is helping me fill out my collection. I doubt I will ever have a full set but I’m working on it. The same booth sold yarn. Makes sense since they are a yarn mill where you send you fiber in to be spun into yarn. So anyway there is this yarn, brown alpaca with little bits of green, purple, and orange through out. Wonderful yarn. I thought long and hard since my stash doesn’t contain the yarn for one Christmas present that must be made. However, it should be black yarn and this, as pretty as it was, wasn’t going to be right. So I was able to stay on my stash diet.
The two spinning wheels are busy. On one I have blue sock yarn. It will be a rather thick three ply. On the other wheel is the corn silk; you know the stuff that smells like corn syrup? After reading a few of the old Spin Offs I just bought I ran into two articles that really like spinning synthetic yarn for socks because of their wicking qualities. I may give this yarn a try. Or I will place it in the tote with my other thin yarns to be woven into clothes.
The loom is still empty and for the same reason as last time. I suspect it will stay empty until spring. But my needles are going strong. I’m serious about reducing my stash. Ok all the projects I am listing still need the ends worked in but they are off the needles. 2 hats. One is so ugly it’s cute, that’s according to Himself. It was just ugly until I added the pompoms and the bow. That really helped. I feel pretty sorry for it so I have worn it a few times on our evening walks. It has earflaps so it keeps my face warm. Good because last night’s walk was in frozen sleet. The weatherman called it snow but I know ice on my eyeballs when I feel it. Another hat is finished. This one is extra nice made out of very soft wool for a friend that doesn’t think she likes wool. I have also finished a pair of socks and well on my way to finishing another pair. Finally the child sweater is working its way down to the last cuff. A few more hats a few more pairs of scarves some boiled wool mittens and some fingerless gloves and Christmas will be done. Can I finish all of this in time? Who knows? Especially since the socks I have been working on are for me and the child’s sweater isn’t for anybody. It seems that they should be saved for after Christmas but I must listen to the project that cries the loudest. Also an abandoned project usually dies and all that can be done is reclaiming the yarn. It’s just too hard to pick up were it was left off. I really hope the four sweater bodies I set aside this year can be revived later this winter and finished.
I feel like I should list the yarn that each project is coming from. Like that super nice wool hat. That yarn was to be my first sweater. I had a perfect natural brown fleece. Perfect except all that hay. I bought some combs and combed it out really nice. I combed and combed and combed. I did this for hours. I had a huge basket full of bird nests of combed top. Perfect. Half an hour of spinning and 2 balls of yarn later the combed top was all used up. Hmmm well several more months of this and I would have a sweater. I put that yarn away. It seems that I don’t like combing all that much after all. 3 years later it is time to forget that sweater and the yarn is just the thing for a hat. I have enough that I think I can make a second one.
The socks where a pair I had worked on while ridding the train to Chicago to see Rembrandt exhibit last spring. Since I was on the train I couldn’t try them on for size. Booth needed the toes ripped out and reknitted to the right length before I could wear them. The socks in progress are from yarn that I got a gift exchange. They are a good brand of sock yarn but an unfortunate color. That’s how they ended up in the white elephant exchange in the fist place. I have tons of pretty sock yarn in my stash but felt that I should knit this one. The socks are turning out great but the color is still unfortunate. The main color is sweatshirt gray. That’s fine. However, it has dashes of hot pink. It looks like gym socks that had been washed with an ink pen that leaked or worse it reminds me of all the hunters that come in where I work wearing blood splattered sweat shirts. It seems they take off the camouflage jacket before moving the dear to the car. I guess blood on camouflage doesn’t look nice either. Finally that poor ugly cute hat. It was yarn that was sampling for a mixed fiber jacket. The jacket was to be the same wool plied with a different fiber for each strip. It was going to be stunning white on white all different textures and natural white color. However, that pattern is still in the publishing faze and by the time I can buy my very own autographed copy I will want to make new samples out of my new stash.
My stack of finished projects is mounting but my stash is hardly diminishing. However, my yarn stash diet is progressing nicely. I haven’t bought any yarn for months. Except for those 2 balls of my very favorite BFL wool made into yarn. I have never owned mill spun BFL wool yarn, and it was on a supper sale, and it fit easily into the spinning fiber I ordered. I just couldn’t resist, two balls that is only enough for one pair of socks so it will hardly take any room in the stash. I don’t remember putting myself on a spinning fiber diet so the 12 pounds of sock blend top, merino top, and coridale cross top I bought two weeks ago weren’t cheating. I was out of white fiber for dyeing. And after spending all day last Monday dyeing I worked my way through 8 of those 12 pounds so I am almost out again. Maybe I will need more fiber before the BFL yarn goes out of sock. It is such a nice yarn. I must get back to knitting. Maybe I’ll have time to dress the loom this weekend after all.
Monday, November 08, 2004
Finishing
My compute has been kaput for the last couple of weeks. I have been lucky on the day’s it would let me read my e-mail much less compose an entry. However, I have kept busy through it all.
Spinning I finished the black angora. I didn’t like the sample yarn plied back on it’s self so I plied it with a finely spun silk thread. I love the squiggly texture that made. Now I just have to decide on the boarder for the alpaca poncho. I also finished spinning all of the natural cotton, lyconell, and linen fiber. Now to spin up the equal amount of the same blend in bleached white. I’ll then ply those two together. However, I needed a break from that so I am well into 4 oz of Ingio a fiber made from corn. I don’t know how they do it but it smooth like silk, bright white like angora, and it smells like corn syrup. I’m spinning it fine but don’t know what I will make out of it. Do I want clothing that smells like corn syrup?
Weaving- My loom is empty. I finished the weaving of the pink poncho and the Christmas scarf. Both need to be finished and washed before they are done but that can wait. I received my patterns in the mail and will start the yardage for a hooded jacket one of these days. It’s on the back burner since the widest piece in the pattern is wider than my loom. Now I wait to see if I get that table loom for Christmas. Oh I think I am. How exciting. And Himself was eager to strike the deal of my getting another loom the next time he gets a top of the line gaming computer. So it may be possible for me to have 3 looms by this time next year. O JOY!
Knitting. Of course that gray poncho is on hold while I decide the perfect boarder. All sweaters for me are on hold until after Christmas. For Christmas I have a list the length of my arm. We will see what gets done. In the mean time instead of Christmas knitting I am making a child Gausy sweater. Only one more sleeve to go. However, I don’t know any children. I will just have to wait until one of the babies in my life grows up. This sweated is wonderful and now I will know what I’m doing when I want to knit an adult size.
Spinning I finished the black angora. I didn’t like the sample yarn plied back on it’s self so I plied it with a finely spun silk thread. I love the squiggly texture that made. Now I just have to decide on the boarder for the alpaca poncho. I also finished spinning all of the natural cotton, lyconell, and linen fiber. Now to spin up the equal amount of the same blend in bleached white. I’ll then ply those two together. However, I needed a break from that so I am well into 4 oz of Ingio a fiber made from corn. I don’t know how they do it but it smooth like silk, bright white like angora, and it smells like corn syrup. I’m spinning it fine but don’t know what I will make out of it. Do I want clothing that smells like corn syrup?
Weaving- My loom is empty. I finished the weaving of the pink poncho and the Christmas scarf. Both need to be finished and washed before they are done but that can wait. I received my patterns in the mail and will start the yardage for a hooded jacket one of these days. It’s on the back burner since the widest piece in the pattern is wider than my loom. Now I wait to see if I get that table loom for Christmas. Oh I think I am. How exciting. And Himself was eager to strike the deal of my getting another loom the next time he gets a top of the line gaming computer. So it may be possible for me to have 3 looms by this time next year. O JOY!
Knitting. Of course that gray poncho is on hold while I decide the perfect boarder. All sweaters for me are on hold until after Christmas. For Christmas I have a list the length of my arm. We will see what gets done. In the mean time instead of Christmas knitting I am making a child Gausy sweater. Only one more sleeve to go. However, I don’t know any children. I will just have to wait until one of the babies in my life grows up. This sweated is wonderful and now I will know what I’m doing when I want to knit an adult size.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)